Man charged with stabbing and shooting his longtime girlfriend in a Fall River car wash, court records show

The man accused of killing his longtime girlfriend at a car wash in Fall River on Monday told investigators he stabbed her in the back and shot her three times after she threatened him during an argument, according to police.

Angelo O. Leo, 33, allegedly admitted to stabbing Jessenia Simmons, 45, and then shooting her “accidentally,” police said in a report. While she lay on the ground inside a bay at the Globe Car Wash, he shot her “two more times purposely,” the report said.

Simmons, a mother of two teenagers who lived in New Bedford, was pronounced dead. Leo drove away but later surrendered to police in Tiverton, R.I., according to the office of Bristol District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III.

Once in custody, Leo agreed to be interviewed by police after being given his Miranda rights, according to the police report.

Leo pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder in Fall River District Court on Tuesday and was ordered held without bail by Judge Kevin J. Finnerty, according to court records.

According to court records, in December 2019, friends were helping Simmons move out of a Fall River apartment she shared with Leo when he became enraged, grabbed a kitchen knife, and slashed her hand.

Two friends tackled Leo, pinning him to the kitchen floor while telling Simmons to run for her life, according to a police report.

Simmons told police she and Leo had been together for seven years and that since Leo was released from prison, he had been verbally and physically abusive and had slashed a leather couch she bought.

Leo was arrested and ordered held without bail under the state’s dangerousness law and remained jailed until late 2020, when he pleaded guilty to assault and battery/domestic violence, a subsequent offense, according to court records. He later completed his sentence, records show.

Leo is scheduled to return to court June 29, records show.